criterionforum.org

Lancelot du Lac is the last Bresson film I watched, mostly because it, like The Trial of Joan of Arc for some of you, put me off so deeply. That said, I love Pickpocket, L'Argent, A Man Escaped, etc.

Person wrote:There are now also whole theories regarding the role the hallucinogenic fungus played in the bringing about of the French Revolution, as 1789 was a pretty poor crop year and people had to make do with bad rye. Food for thought, folks!

that's the same presumed cause of the Salem Witch trials and Grünewald's pre-psychedelic depiction of Jesus floating in a sphere of light with the alternate side depicting the most nightmarish demons this side of a Max Ernst painting.

Oh absolUTEly-- the man's canon is sublime. Balthazar, Country Priest, Pickpocket, La Femme Douce, A Man Escaped, Dame du bois, etc-- these are total masterpieces. Proces is dead wood stripped of anything even remotely compelling. Dreyer was a guy experimenting with Paring Down. Here in this film he's shorn the film of all possibility of entertainment.. engagement.. interest. Whatever. It's literally like watching water freeze into ice.

I probably a minority on here if I say I didn't like Au hasard balthazar. Bresson's style puts me to sleep at times.

how can a passionate tale about a girl and her donkey be bad? Think about it... It's about a Girl and her DONKEY.

aox wrote:how can a passionate tale about a girl and her donkey be bad? Think about it... It's about a Girl and her DONKEY.

I'm not into bestiality.

PfR73 wrote:I attended a Monte Hellman triple feature at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin last night, which had Monte Hellman in attendance. He told me Criterion would be releasing "The Shooting" & "Ride In The Whirlwind."

Yeah, really great news. I know there's a half-decent Japanese release of The Shooting and maybe of Ride the Whirlwind too, but still, it's nice to see (possibly) definitive editions on Criterion's horizon.

Cinephrenic wrote:

aox wrote:how can a passionate tale about a girl and her donkey be bad? Think about it... It's about a Girl and her DONKEY.

I'm not into bestiality.

Interspecies Erotica.

miless wrote:

Person wrote:There are now also whole theories regarding the role the hallucinogenic fungus played in the bringing about of the French Revolution, as 1789 was a pretty poor crop year and people had to make do with bad rye. Food for thought, folks!

that's the same presumed cause of the Salem Witch trials and Grünewald's pre-psychedelic depiction of Jesus floating in a sphere of light with the alternate side depicting the most nightmarish demons this side of a Max Ernst painting.

Sorry to be a nerd and off-topic here, but what you're describing are The Resurrection and The Temptation of St Antony panels in the Isenheim Altarpiece. What do you expect them to be if not fantastic? Is there any other reason to believe Grünewald might have been exposed to hallucinogenic fungus? And just because he used intense, other-worldly colors doesn't mean they're "pre-psychedelic." Anyway, more on topic...

HerrSchreck wrote:Proces is dead wood stripped of anything even remotely compelling.

In a dramatic, narrative sense you're right. But, but... deeply compelling on a formal and visual/audio level it seems to me. Proces is oddly one of my personal favorites. If people dislike it so much I can see why they think A Man Escaped is where it's at, but Bresson for me has never been about dramatic engagement.

mattkc wrote:Sorry to be a nerd and off-topic here, but what you're describing are The Annunciation and The Temptation of St Antony panels in the Isenheim Altarpiece. What do you expect them to be if not fantastic? Is there any other reason to believe Grünewald might have been exposed to hallucinogenic fungus? And just because he used intense, other-worldly colors doesn't mean they're "pre-psychedelic." Anyway, more on topic...

The alterpiece was created for a church that specifically dealt in caring for victims of Ergot poisoning (sort of like a Hospice). One of the side effects of extreme Ergot poisoning was gangrene, which the crucified Christ is suffering from in the central panel (which is not very common, as Christ was usually depicted in a less decomposed form). It is believed that either Grünewald himself suffered from these symptoms, or that he spent enough time with the sick to hear their delusions, and incorporate them into the painting.

These are all theories, of course, as almost nothing is known of Grünewald's life (and Grünewald wasn't even his real name). His situation is actually quite similar to Andrei Rublev's, in that almost nothing was known of them, and they have a very small number of extremely influential paintings (all of a religious nature, of course).

miless wrote:The alterpiece was created for a church that specifically dealt in caring for victims of Ergot poisoning (sort of like a Hospice). One of the side effects of extreme Ergot poisoning was gangrene... It is believed that either Grünewald himself suffered from these symptoms, or that he spent enough time with the sick to hear their delusions, and incorporate them into the painting.

I didn't know this. Thanks. Grünewald happens to be one of my favorite painters.

Turner Classic Movies showed [Ozu's There Was a Father] recently. Fantastic movie. Unfortunately, the TCM print was in bad shape -- nitrate damage, bad sound, frame jitter.

Does anyone know if better source material exists? What should we expect from the Criterion version if & when they get to it? I'd love to see the film again in a better-quality print.

I think a certain domino harvey would also be delighted to see this released.

sidehacker wrote:I think a certain domino harvey would also be delighted to see this released.

Thanks for clearing up that burning issue.

Well, doesn't Criterion own the R1 rights to ALL of his films? Or am I making that up?

Can we have a moratorium on Ozu for the time being. Its not like we are not seeing his films being slated out one-by-one from Criterion. Whatever happened to Naruse?

And this is neither a rumor nor a piece of news. TCM airs a lot of things that never make it to DVD. If memory serves, there wasn't even a Janus logo prior to this showing. What about Merrily We Live? It gets the old blue Janus start and hasn't hit DVD. Where's that release?

HerrSchreck wrote:

sidehacker wrote:I think a certain domino harvey would also be delighted to see this released.

Thanks for clearing up that burning issue.

Just be glad that I'm not as sensitive as Gary Tooze.

There, I did it. I made two nerdy board-related references in a row.

This is my favorite thread

souvenir wrote:TCM airs a lot of things that never make it to DVD.

This is true. Much as I'd like to see Maisie Goes to Reno get the Criterion treatment, it may never happen.

But There Was a Father is on the "forthcoming" list above; Donald Richie reportedly said it was in the Criterion pipeline.

Given the extremely problematic nature of Shochiku's source material, I can't see Ozu releasing There Is a Father as anything but an Eclipse release -- or as an "extra" in some other set. Of course, if they have to found a source with vastly better sound and image quality, the situation would be quite different. While I am glad the film survives at all (it could easily have been lost forever), its condition is not good at all (and I don't see what magic Criterion could work to make it even moderately acceptable).

souvenir wrote:TCM airs a lot of things that never make it to DVD.

Considering they've now aired Yor, Hunter from the Future, this is not an entirely bad thing.

I remember hearing reports from the 2005 Cannes that the restored There Was A Father looked very good. A newly restored Two-Lane Blacktop also appeared at the fest, for what its worth in the speculation dept. (not much).

There Was a Father is my favorite of the Ozu I've seen, and I'd love for it to get a dvd relese (I'm hoping for another Ozu Eclipse set in the next ten-twelve months) I can live with the image quality that TCM aired, but I hope the soundtrack might be better on the DVD. If there has been a restoration that's great news, maybe the film will get the Criterion treatment it deserves.

CSM126 wrote:

souvenir wrote:TCM airs a lot of things that never make it to DVD.

Considering they've now aired Yor, Hunter from the Future, this is not an entirely bad thing.

Ha! My father took me to see that in theaters when it came out (I was probably six years old). This was the movie that made me realize that not all movies are good.